Sunn O))) wasn’t the first to play virtually rythmless music with droning guitars, but they are definitely the most famous, and arguably the cutting edge of the genre today. What is interesting is that the way they push the envelope for their sound isn’t by becoming more extreme and inaccessible. What Dømkirke is a prime example of is how successively adding conventional elements such as (clean) vocals and acoustic instruments to their perfected mauling distortion have created a whole new monster. This latest offering is recorded in the cathedral of Bergen, Norway, and makes use of the church’s resident organ.

There are thousands of examples on how mixing metal with folk music can go horribly horribly wrong and in my opinion only one solid example of the contrary — Ukrainian band Drudkh. That is until now, for that is exactly how talented Finnish relative newcomers Draugnim are. Certainly not for all tastes, but if you are the sort of person that deep down inside is secretly attracted to the thought of dying in battle on a misty mire in the Finnish taiga you must not miss this album! Every song on Northwind’s Ire is head above most pagan metal that has been produced, and is perfect for the season. I can only hope that this heralds a new era in the genre, as talented bands such as Walknut, Negură Bunget and even Blut Aus Nord are set to release new albums.

Sometimes I get a feeling that every time Electric Wizard is releasing a new album or merch design, there is an entrenched discussion about whether it should feature: a bong, a cross, a goat, robed figures, nuns, nudity or zombies — usually resulting in half the list being included. Still, there is no question of how good ‘Wizard are at their craft. Records like Dopethrone, We Live and last year’s Witchcult Today are in their groovy stoner-haze splendor perfect examples of the difference between playing the guitar and playing the guitar — as shown by Jus Oborn and Liz Buckingham. Now The House on the Borderland — which is their contribution to this split with equally traditionalist Finnish band Reverend Bizarre — does not stand up very well to the quality of EW’s back-catalog, but is still a solid track. On the other hand, RB’s cover of classic Finnish black metal act Beherit’s The Gate of Nanna is an amazing vinyl-smelling retrotrip complete with cheesily spoken vocal passages and Omen choirs. It really warms my heart that there are people who persist in their quest of recreating the 70s, honoring Sabbath and find the riff.

The latest album of the creative soul behind arguably the best band to carry the ‘NSBM’ stigma — Portland’s Fanisk — sees Eldrig take their previously rather neoclassical influences even further. In fact, though I have enjoyed Eldrig’s earlier efforts, the first impression of Mysterion is that it there are moments that bring to mind less flattering references such as cheesy synth-enthusiasts Dimmu Borgir and even (*shivers*) progressive metal. Fortunately, Eldrig is a good bit more sophisticated than that, and further listens reveal the highly evolved sense of song structure that has always been a strong point of Eldrig and Fanisk. This, and the trademark epic crescendos, use of organs (though i suppose not very ‘organic’ organs) and geometric mysticism in both lyrics, presentation and arrangement make this as good a release as any of Eldrig’s. Still, my hope is that the promised Fanisk album Insularum will be the one that sets a new standard in the neoclassical/symphonic black metal genre.

On the 7th of may last year Stephen O’Malley, Greg Anderson, Attila Csihar, Oren Ambarchi and Sin Nanna gathered for a one-off improv show in Melbourne Australia, and as evident by this recording of the event, the result was quite intense. Sunn O))) — the band that Pentemple is an offshoot to — is really moving in the right direction with their latest releases, last year’s Oracle was brilliant and the permanent addition (it is right?) of Attila Csihar’s haunting voices to their line up has evolved their sound to a less guitar-based approach. What really stands out with this live recording though is the stunning and totally unexpected performance by Sin Nanna — previously known for playing primitive depressive black metal under the moniker Striborg. During the hour-long improv, here divided into two tracks called Pazuzu 1 and 2 (the demon from the The Exorcist movies remember?), he manages to conjure some highly technical and ritualistic drumming that adds a whole new dimension to Sunn O)))’s psychedelic sound, making this Pentemple release most likely the best output of the social sphere of Sunn’ and their many collaborators this year.

Since this album was rather untimely released in the middle of blossoming spring this year, I made sure I saved some of the Darkspace experience knowing well that revenge, champagne and kunsthall releases are all dishes best served cold under the starry starry sky. For new listeners, Darkspace is an ambient black metal project from the artist behind highly acclaimed Paysage d’Hiver. Evidently, Tobias Möckl and fellow Swiss don’t play around when it comes to band names; where PdH is as wintry as a snowball fight between Abbath and a polar bear, Darkspace is every bit the endless interstellar journey the name suggests.

Few bands can make use of subtlety in the wake of an unrelenting guitar attack the way DS does. Delicate synth flares twinkle on top of soaring tremolo riffs and carpet the more chugging passages nicely. This time less effort also is put into spacious ambient passages of Dark Space II, making III a summation of the previous two releases in more senses the mathematical. I have always seen parallels to 90’s-era Emperor in both Darkspace and Paysage d’Hiver. However, the approach of the latter bands is less baroque and ‘more’ minimalist (you might even say tasteful), but the grand crescendos and high-pitch vocals share a certain identity with Emperor’s early classics. If fans of modern techno are interested in a gateway into black metal, look no further than right here.

Earlier this year, Danish artist Nortt returned with another unfreshly dug grave for us all to lie in. One of the most conceptual bands on the Funeral Doom scene, Nortt takes the listener to an otherworld of eerie chimes, haunting riffs and undead vocals. Galgenfrist features some very ethereal guitar work in their trademark ultra-slow fashion and definetely surpasses last years rather disappointing Ligfaerd. Still, none of Nortt’s later efforts have touched the absolute masterpiece that was 1999’s Graven in my eyes, an album whose low production values did nothing to lessen the brill… ahum… darkness of it’s composition. Sadly, Galgenfrist is inconsistent, with some tracks – like my favorite: ”Af Døde”- bringing back the riff-driven style of Graven and Gudsförladt, while others the more ambient-based from Ligfaerd. Also, I get a feeling that Nortt has gone for more of a burial-by-sea atmosphere rather than the usual subterranean mood this time around, most obvious in ”Havet Hinsides Havet”. Though many that are unacquainted with this sort of death-worship will perhaps find it depressive, know that in the nihil void that Nortt projects there should be no sadness or fear, only the comfort of knowing that all is already lost.

From the deep trenches of the American underground comes an album that will shurely tingle the spine of all who like their music to go with a ‘post-‘ prefix. Surging in popularity, the debut album of Have A Nice Life is very worthy of its praise. Epics like I Don’t Love, The big gloom and There is no food fit perfectly side-by-side with a palpable post-punk attitude that shines through on tracks like Waiting for black metal records to come in the mail and indie-pop gem Holy fucking shit 40 000. Though the lyrics deal mainly with religious themes and (you guessed it) death, there is a strong vibe of arty teenage escapism and new wave aesthetics, with wonderful guitar/synthesizer carpets and talented songwriting. Despite it’s lofi production, Deathconsciousness manages to sound very avant garde and relevant at the same time, and judging from its reception so far it might very well be regarded as somewhat of a milestone in a few years.

In their ninth release of ’08 (a live DVD not included), Canadian ambient drone duo Nadja presents an absolutely stunning collaboration with New Zealand’s Black boned angel. Nadja’s occasional strides into the more blissful side the droney spectrum have been few but unparalled in the genre, surpassing the recent productions of more well-known shoegaze metallers Jesu with ease (best represented by the sensuality of Stays Demons from their debut). In this EP they add the crushing backdrop of BBA’s uncompromising guitar tectonics to their patented pink pillows of fuzzy drone, but cram it into a choral setting previously unheard of from either band. The song is basically a half-an-hour chorus, with the expected monotony of the genre accentuated by unreal guitar flavours, courtesy of that someone in BBA that is capable of alternately making their instrument sound like a church organ and a puppy with a gunshot wound, within a twinkling of time. Track of the year so far, without a doubt.